Since a number of cool things are happening in space exploration these days, we'll widen the scope of this thread a smidge. Conversation about all things space exploration are welcome, whether it be from NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, or anyone else. Chances are most of the discussion will still be about SpaceX since they love to make things public and fun, but nothing's off limits. I'll eventually get around to modifying the OP to include resources for other companies too, but in the meantime, feel free to post any cool stuff you run across.
Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) - A "random dude" who got really into space (particularly SpaceX). He's a great resource for simple explanations of this stuff, as well as live hosting launches.
USLaunchReport - Lost of videos of the more mundane stuff (e.g., booster recovery operations). Not a ton of commentary.
NASASpaceFlight - Live hosting of most launches including a ton of video of Starlink operations.
Glossary
Spoiler!
Space discussions tend to get a little bogged down in jargon, so here's a list of terms you might encounter. (Others, please let me know of others that should be added.)
ASDS - Autonomous Spaceport Droneship - The "barges" that they sometimes land rockets on.
Dragon - The cone-shaped capsule that sits at the top of the rocket for ISS-bound launches that holds the cargo (or, in the future, humans).
F9 - Falcon 9, the name of the rocket itself.
FH - Falcon Heavy, the three-booster version.
GTO - Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, a type of orbit that will eventually result in the satellite orbiting the earth as it turns so that it seems to be in the same spot from the ground (such as DirecTV or Dish satellites). These types of launches are particularly challenging because they require a lot of power to get them into the right orbit, leaving very little fuel left for landing.
HIF - Horizontal Integration Facility - the building near the launch pad where they put all of the pieces of the rocket together before rolling it out to the pad.
ISS - The International Space Station
JRTI - Just Read The Instructions, the name of the "barge" that they land on for west-coast launches.
LEO - Low Earth Orbit, a fairly low orbit shared by many satellites and ISS. These launches usually require less power to achieve the proper orbit, so the first stage can often be landed back on land rather than on a drone ship.
LZ1 - Landing Zone 1, basically a big open slab of concrete at Cape Canaveral where the first stage will attempt to land (for some launches).
NET - No Earlier Than, basically the date they're hoping to launch, but rocket launches have a tendency of getting delayed.
OCISLY - Of Course I Still Love You, the name of the "barge" that they land on for east-coast launches.
RTLS - Return to Landing Site, a mission where the first stage comes back and lands at LZ1.
Starship - SpaceX's next-generation rocket (and spacecraft) that will hopefully one day take us to Mars. Starship is the "second stage" that will carry cargo or people, but also refers to the whole system. (It's confusing, but think of it like the Space Shuttle, which was both the shuttle itself and the entire launch system.)
Super Heavy - The giant booster that will carry Starship to space.
This is a biased group to get feedback from, but do you guys think we should start a new thread for the DEMO-2 launch or just keep it in here? The first manned launch from U.S. soil in a decade seems like an event people should know about, but I'm always hesitant to clutter up a Chiefs board with too much space stuff. :-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
This is a biased group to get feedback from, but do you guys think we should start a new thread for the DEMO-2 launch or just keep it in here? The first manned launch from U.S. soil in a decade seems like an event people should know about, but I'm always hesitant to clutter up a Chiefs board with too much space stuff. :-)
No, in my opinion. It's just going to make this thread even better! [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
This is a biased group to get feedback from, but do you guys think we should start a new thread for the DEMO-2 launch or just keep it in here? The first manned launch from U.S. soil in a decade seems like an event people should know about, but I'm always hesitant to clutter up a Chiefs board with too much space stuff. :-)
Both
Start the new thread for this historic event. If it catches, great. If not, we still have this thread! [Reply]
I was thinking about the landing legs. During ascent, the stress put on them (facing the direction of flight) must be massive. I wonder how much drag they add. [Reply]
Once Demo-2 is complete, and the SpaceX and NASA teams have reviewed all the data for certification, SpaceX will launch Crew Dragon’s first six-month operational mission (Crew-1) later this year. The Crew-1 spacecraft is in production and astronaut training is well underway pic.twitter.com/SVMQMkK6AB
Originally Posted by Donger:
I was thinking about the landing legs. During ascent, the stress put on them (facing the direction of flight) must be massive. I wonder how much drag they add.
I'm sure it's significant. It looks like Starship is going to have them coming out from the base rather than on the sides, likely to reduce the drag. [Reply]
Assuming the data looks good, the next step is a 150m hop (like Starhopper, but a much taller rocket). No set timeline, but hopefully in the next couple weeks. [Reply]
